I'm not sure about the name of the tool, but it is a little wire brush that you rotate to clean out the primer pocket.

You can buy it with a screwdriver like handle and do it by hand. It works fine, but it gets old quickly.

You can put the brush in an electric drill. That works fine too. When I did it that way, I locked the trigger on the drill at low speed and put the drill in a vice I have on my workbench.

RCBS makes a piece of equipment that will take four rotating tools. Examples are a bevel and champfer that take the burr off of trimmed cases, something that takes the crimp off of primers pockets where the primers were crimped in and the aforementioned primer pocket cleaning brush.

I've tried cleaning and not cleaning the primer pockets and never noticed any difference in whether the round fired or not. Howerver, cleaning them scratches my OCD itch so I do.

I find that tumbling first then depriming is best for me.
I don't like running my cases through my dies until they are clean. I scratched up a sizing die rally bad and would rather not repeat that.

I don't like picking debris out of flash holes either. To me it's a real pain.

I did buy the RCBS case prep station and it's very easy to clean up pockets with it. It's not cheap and not for everyone but I like it.

I just started blackpowder cartridge loading and so far, depriming with a Lee hand press and a universal deprimmer die and dropping them into a jug of soapy water is working fine. I rinse them when I get home, or back to the RV, then let them dry. Maybe a little wiping off with a rag and I'm ready to reload. I don't have a need for bright shiny blackpowder cases if it means tumbling with empty primer pockets.

Like I said, I'm just starting BP cartridges so I'm sure I have room to learn.

I don't remove the spent primer when I tumble the brass, for my BP brass I drop it in soapy water asap have an old plastic nut jar, seals tight and on the ride home it gets shaken pretty good.
My BP shooting friends tell me for that brass I should use ceramic media to get it super clean.

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US Navy Retired,NRA Life Member,SASS member, Time magazine's Person of the Year 2006!

Folks in the BPCR world either use angle cut ceramic, or the newest thing, stainless steel rods in their tumblers. The angle cut allows them to get into the corners of the primer pocket. The stainless steel pins are small enough to go through the primer hole and also get into the corners. Roundish grains can't get into a corner.

I use a Thumbler's Tumbler with ceramic. Soon I will be shifting to the stainless as I load some cartridges that my ceramic media gets jammed up in.

Brass that has been tumbled in ceramic media comes out looking better than new.

Don't know about how many of you do this, but I'll bet more than one or two. Every year around Christmas, my family will crack and eat close to 50 lbs of various kinds of nuts. Everything from English Walnuts, Almonds, Pecans, ect.
I started keeping the shells instead of throwing them away, and it lets me replace my tumbler media, several times a year for free. Just be sure to throw away partially filled shells and use only empty shells and don't let any of the nut itself get in there. The nut will turn to oil and wind up on your cases.

Not sure how much media costs, as I have never bought any, but every dollar counts when you like to shoot a lot.

My brass probably isn't as clean as some of the ceramics or what not could get them, but they look as good as factory when I re-load them.

To answer your question Mr. Hoy. Hawg Haggen was the first to be spot on with the correct information you require. I would like to add something too it if you don't mind Sir. Those primer pocket cleaner tools are commonly found in two sizes. You need the LARGE one. Being you like those Lee products they make a >Jim Dandy do it all scraper tool.< Which will clean Large and those Small primer pockets. And accomplished both tasks with the same tool. It's a "Handy Dandy" tool to have on your bench.

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"Do not follow where the path leads, rather go where there is no path and leave a trail."

I use Stainless Steel pin media in a 15 lb. Thumblers Tumbler that I used to use for rock polishing, and have for over 6 mos now...and besides the rare pin that gets wedged in a flash hole, it has worked brilliantly (pun intended)!

I've learned a bit during that time.
The detergent you use has different results, depending on which you use.
I used Dawn liquid (as the ss media folks recommend) when I had it, which works well...partly because it contains a bit of ammonia, which I found on a deep msds search. Ammonia is not good for repeated use on brass.
I am not a chemist, but an avid reloader with a curious mind, and frequent MSDS searcher on-line.

I had some Very disappointed batches using Oxy clean liquid detergent, because it oxidized my brass right in the tumbler...and they came out very dull and ugly...probably "clean", but looked worse than when they went it.

Even the NuFinish people rave about working so well in dry vibrating media has a trace of ammonia in it.

I don't use Lemi Shine, as they suggest either, because the citric acid affects zinc in brass and removes a tiny bit of the metal.

So, having said all that...what do I use?
1 tablespoon of Simple Green, and 2 teaspoons of liquid jewelers rough buffing compound....period, nothing else.
My brass comes out brilliantly shiny.

I hope this helps someone.

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And since you are reading this in English...Thank a SOLDIER.

I have the Lee primer pocket cleaner. It works if I use it though I do not most times. I also have the Lyman case prep tool kit or what ever it is called. I bought it from Cabella's for removing primer pocket crimps from .223 Rem brass. I use the small cleaner to check for pocket clearance before reaming primer pockets. If the cleaner will go in and twist I have no need to ream the pocket, a primer will seat. If it does not go in then I know the pocket is crimped.

Oh and using dry media in a vibratory cleaner will not clean primer pockets, or the insides of the cases, regardless of what you wish to add that I know of.

Doc I own the HF vibratory cleaner. I reccomend that you remove the nut holding the bowl, and add a lock washer, and lock nut. Make sure they are tight. It has so much torque it will strip the threads if you do not. Mine did. I have seen the reports of several other people that have had the same problem.

Due to bad dust allergies I started using a Sonic Cleaner to clean range pick up rifle brass. I just have to wait for it to dry before loading. I do still use the vibratory for super cruddy stuff from the buckets though I use it outside, and wear a dust mask to keep from agrivating my sinuses.

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No matter how many times you do it and nothing happens it only takes something going wrong one time to kill you.

RCBS makes those little wire brushes that thread into the same handle as the case mouth brush. After tumbling and then sizing and depriming cases, that little brush gets twirled in the primer pocket. A very minute amount of crap comes out, but I can do about 10 cases per minute, and don't get all anal about how clean the pockets are.

I know some hand loaders that have done thousands of rounds that never ever clean primer pockets or worry about flash holes. And there is this other guy that reams the flash hole on all his brass. Whatever. Personal preference.

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